(Pine Bluff, AR) - Rick Holman, Belair Middle School, Makiya Hines, Pine Bluff Lighthouse Charter School, and William L. Fells, III, Ridgeway Christian School are students participating in the Pen or Pencil initiative. These students were selected to represent the state of Arkansas during the "Take A Stand To Keep A Seat National Youth Mentoring Summit" and will compete against other students from Los Angeles and Antelope Valley California, Atlanta, Georgia, Danbury, Connecticut, High Point, North Carolina, Kansas City and Saint Louis, Missouri, Washington, DC, Chicago, Illinois, Florida, and Seattle, Washington. The summit is sponsored by the National Alliance of Faith and Justice, (NAFJ) in conjunction with the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, (NABCJ) and will be held at the Hilton Orlando Hotel July 21, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. Pine Bluff students will arrive on July 19 and return July 21, 2014. The Interested Citizens for Voter Registration, Inc., (ICVR), Arkansas’ Lead Pen or Pencil affiliate, conducts sessions with youngsters in the Pine Bluff and Dollarway School Districts as well as the Pine Bluff Lighthouse Charter School and the Ridgeway Christian School.

Recently students received certificates of participation from ICVR, Inc. during the award ceremonies held at the Lighthouse Charter School and Belair Middle School.